Page 32 of The Journey of a Lifetime (Tiny Homes and Happy Tails #2)

T he Rocky Mountains were breathtaking up close. There were elk walking up the side of the narrow road. Maggie had to slow down to make sure they wouldn’t dart out in front of the van.

They also spotted a wolf trotting through the woods with something in its mouth.

The closer they got to the top the thinner the air was. Maggie’s chest hurt a little with the higher elevation. Cindy complained that her head was starting to hurt. Maggie had read about elevation sickness and encouraged her to drink more fluids, which seemed to help.

They parked in the parking lot around halfway up the mountain. Instead of loading up into the bus, like the other visitors, they walked toward the woods with Walker on his leash.

“Let’s don’t go too far. Never know what kind of animal we might meet.” Cindy cast an anxious glance at Maggie.

Maggie nodded. “Why don’t we take our breakfast sandwiches over to that stump over there.”

Walker wagged his tail as they made their way over to a cleared area among the trees.

Maggie glanced around before setting their sandwiches on the tall stump.

There was a line forming where people were waiting for the next bus to arrive to take them to the top of the mountain.

The mixture of retired couples laughing and younger parents trying to corral their kids while handing out fruit snacks broke through the silence of the park.

“I wonder if I’ll ever have that.” Cindy took a bite of her breakfast sandwich and looked over Maggie’s shoulder.

Maggie followed her gaze to the young couple.

The stressed mom had her long brown hair pulled up into a messy ponytail.

She kept shoving her sunglasses up on the bridge of her nose as she bent over to hand her cranky toddler a package of gummy fruit snacks.

Her daughter was busy entertaining the people waiting by singing a made-up song about bears in the woods.

A nearby retired couple commented on how cute she was to the mother, while the husband checked the baseball score on his phone, oblivious that the toddler needed his attention.

Maggie looked at Cindy. “Have what? Being stressed out with kids and a husband who won’t help?”

Cindy blinked and then turned to look at her. “Is that what you see?”

Maggie took a second look. “Yeah. What do you see?”

Cindy took another bite and examined the scene again before replying. “Kids and a husband. You know, a family.” She took another bite.

Maggie could sense she was thinking about Tony. She wanted to grab the girl and shake her senseless before telling her Tony was an abuser and she deserved better.

It made her want to answer the Facebook message to Cindy’s mom even more urgently.

“You’ll have that one day. Someone who deserves you and loves you and treats you well.” Maggie pulled off a piece of her sandwich and held it out for Walker. The dog gently took it out of her hand and gobbled it up. He looked up at her, wagged his tail, and gave her a toothy smile.

“You don’t think Tony treats me well, do you?” Cindy stated.

Maggie locked eyes. “I don’t think a man should ever put his hands on a woman. A man that does that is a bully.”

Cindy set her half-eaten sandwich down on the stump and wiped her hands on her jeans. “It doesn’t happen all the time. And the good times are really good.”

Maggie lost her appetite. She fed the rest of the sandwich to Walker. “It’s called the honeymoon stage. Where, after an abuser hurts his victim, he love bombs her with gifts, words of endearment, telling her how sorry he is and it won’t ever happen again. Until it does.”

Cindy’s lips were pressed into a thin white line.

Maggie shook her head. “Cindy, if I didn’t care about you, then I would let it go. But I do care. I consider you a friend. And I don’t want you to get hurt—or worse. You have so much potential. You’re smart, caring, considerate. You deserve the best.”

Cindy’s expression relaxed. She looked at Maggie under her lashes. “You consider me a friend?”

“Of course.” Maggie smiled. “You’ve been a better friend to me than Lauren. And I’ve known her for years.” She snorted.

Cindy smiled brightly. “I consider you my friend too, Maggie.”

Maggie remembered the message from Cindy’s mom. “You know, I bet your family is really worried about you. I bet they would love to hear from you.”

Cindy’s smile faltered. “I don’t know. A lot has happened. There are some things you can’t forgive.”

Maggie cocked her head. “What did you do that you think is so unforgiveable?”

Cindy wrapped her arms around her chest and studied the ground.

“Before I left with Tony, I stole some money.” She looked up at Maggie with pleading in her eyes.

“I didn’t want to, but Tony said we needed it for gas money.

I took two hundred dollars out of my dad’s wallet.

” Her face went pale before she looked away.

“I’ve never done anything like that in my life.

There’s no way they could forgive me for that.

” Cindy’s voice cracked with so much emotion that it broke Maggie’s heart.

“I’m going to tell you something. You might not like what I have to say.” Maggie lifted her chin.

Cindy stiffened. “You are kicking me out of your van.”

Maggie blinked. “What?! No! I would never kick you out.” Maggie gave her a reassuring squeeze on her arm.

Cindy relaxed a little. “What is it then?”

Maggie cleared her throat. “I contacted your mom, Joy Miller, on Facebook.”

The color drained from the girl’s face and she swayed on her feet. She quickly steadied herself and met Maggie’s gaze. “You talked to my Mom?”

“Well, not in person. Just on Facebook Messenger. Her last picture she posted has you in it.”

Cindy swallowed. “What did you say?”

“I told her I was your friend and was with you.”

Cindy narrowed her eyes slightly. “Did you tell them Tony left me?”

Maggie shook her head. “No. And she sent me a message back asking if you are okay and that the family hasn’t heard from you in months. Your mom seems really worried about you.”

Cindy slowly walked a few feet away, staring up at the sky. She turned on her heel. “So she’s not mad?”

Maggie quickly took her phone out of her back pocket and pulled up the message from Joy. She held it out. “Look for yourself.”

Cindy didn’t move for a second. She padded slowly toward her and reached for the phone.

Cindy was reading and rereading the message.

“Are you mad?” Maggie asked softly.

Cindy lifted her eyes. “No.” She looked back at the phone. “She doesn’t sound mad.”

Maggie smiled. “She’s not. She’s worried about you. Why don’t you call her?”

Cindy shoved one hand in her jeans pocket.

“Your mom is worried about you, Cindy.” Maggie’s voice was soft and gentle.

Cindy nodded. She walked a few feet away, typed in the phone number and held it to her ear.

“Hello, Mom? It’s Cindy.”